Plan Mexico: Why mining is a natural ally

On January 13th, 2025, President Sheinbaum presented to the country what she named the “Plan Mexico”, which is an economic and social development program, with thirteen clear goals, with which her government seeks a more competitive and prosperous country.

The President of Mexico described that the plan is based on three fundamental axes: strengthening the domestic market, import substitutions, and strengthening regional markets, with the clear focus on helping the Mexican economy to flourish in the upcoming years, inviting the business woman and business man of Mexico, to think and act big, to work together in the “National Industrialization Strategy” that promotes fair trade and regional integration, and finally, to trust Mexico. In fact, during the presentation, the coordinator of the Regional Economic Development and Relocation Advisory Council (CADERR), Altagracia Gómez, invited those present, and all Mexican business owners, to invest, to produce, to consume, to vacate, to study, to work and in simple words, to pick and prioritize Mexico.

The ambitious 13 long-term goals of the Plan Mexico include that by the year 2030, among others, our country becomes one of the ten biggest economies in the world; to generate 1.5 million additional jobs; increasing to fifty per cent the domestic supply of the products consumed in Mexico and 15% the national content of domestically produced goods in global value chains; reducing the total time to concrete an investment in Mexico from 2.6 to 1 year by simplifying procedures,; to increase the number of graduated professionals and technicians by 150 thousand per year; and other ambitious goals, such as ensuring a corporate environmental sustainability; making Mexico one of the five most visited countries in the world and ultimately decreasing poverty and inequality.

For this, the President described that there is Plan, tailor made for every local State in Mexico, that include a very specific schedule from January to April 2025, with monthly follow-up meetings to review private investments, a decree for the re-location (nearshoring) of companies, and the submission to the Mexican congress of the new “National Law for the Simplification and Digitalization of Formalities and Procedures”, increasing the electric consumption capacity in 27k megawatts, and the re-launch of the “Made in Mexico” branch, and executing the covenant with the Mexican Central Bank and the National Banks Association, to ensure the increase in access to financing for small and mid-size companies by 3.5% annually. In addition to this schedule, the government claimed that the T-MEC with the United States of America and Canada, will be kept valid and in place, helping the region to compete with other global players, such as China.

In Sheinbaum words, the “Plan Mexico” is a vision for the development of our country, including an equitable and sustainable development, one of industrialization and economic growth, but above all, focused on the well-being for our people and of benefit for everyone.

And this is great, and we all want this Plan to succeed, and one of the most strategic industries, and a natural ally for achieving these goals, is the mining industry.

At least in the first draft of the full document that can be consulted at: https://www.planmexico.gob.mx, the mining industry was not clearly included as an strategic sector, such as the aerospace or automotive industries, however, the document did described that the activities identified as “strategic” would furthermore have to fall into one of the following categories: expansion of existing sectors, new production activities or industrial import substitution. The document has an important disclaimer, the sectors that are expressly mentioned in the first draft of the plan, are illustrative and not limitative; and the Mexican government confirms that there is a comprehensive plan for the rest of the sectors.

Here is where we believe that both the Mexican government and the mining industry have a great opportunity ahead.

For decades, the responsible mining industry has indeed already picked Mexico, has invested, has produced, has consumed, has helped thousands of households to be able to vacate, to study, and to work in Mexico, again, in simple words, the responsible mining industry has picked and prioritized Mexico.

It is a fact that we face many challenges as a country: reducing poverty, reducing migration levels, increasing employment rates, working for equity and social justice, and combating the negative impact on the environment, among others. These are just some examples of what countries and their governments work on every day in institutional work. However, broader actions are required to provide an alternative and a real solution.

This is why inviting and including the mining industry as a key player to achieve the long-term objectives of the Plan Mexico is so important, supporting and strengthening the Mexican mining industry, providing clear rules and a certain legal framework, allowing the flourish and expansion of mining projects that address the causes of the region’s challenges, optimizing alliances and providing alternative solutions to structural problems that directly impact the well-being of the people in a given territory, including the communities around every mine in Mexico.

It is also important that the responsible mining industry raise its hand and its voice, and clearly and expressly support the idea behind this economic and social development program proposed by Sheinbaum. The mining industry is already a long-term driven industry, is a natural ally for the long-term goals of the Plan Mexico. It is a team effort, that could bring excellent results. We can make it happen, let’s work together towards this goal.